At the Horowhenua District council, the last three years have been a tale of two mates against the world. Alex Braae goes inside the friendship of mayor Michael Feyen and councillor Ross Campbell. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The … Read more
The FMA’s annual sense check of KiwiSaver shows New Zealanders continue to embrace the scheme but the fees they’re being charged may not be doing them any favours. Who is the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and what’s this report? The FMA is the government gatekeeper for our financial markets, and it is one of several … Read more
Wellington writer, illustrator and Katherine Mansfield obsessive Sarah Laing has a new book out tomorrow. Here, she tells its origin story. My first baby was really bad at breastfeeding – or else, as my mother and the Plunket nurse insinuated, I had the wrong shaped nipples. He couldn’t get the suction right and it would … Read more
Think the news is boring? Think again. Tara Ward discovered some snazzy graphics on 1 News and realises that TVNZ’s current affairs have been zhushed up beyond her wildest dreams. The news. Who watches it? Who trusts it? Definitely not Trump and definitely not me, until the other day when I found myself in front … Read more
In the latest episode of On The Rag, based on the podcast of the same name, watch as Alex Casey, Michèle A’Court and Leonie Hayden embrace the world of sex positivity. Light some candles and slip into something more comfortable for the sixth episode of the On the Rag webseries. Today, we’ll be stripping bare all … Read more
Grandparents Mere and Ngaro Pita spent decades in a run-down home. A West Auckland programme for elderly residents helped fix that. Mere and Ngaro Pita’s West Auckland home is literally a labour of love. The proud grandparents live about five minutes’ walk from Kelston Boys’ High School with their four mokopuna. Originally from the Far … Read more
Emily Writes watches Netflix’s new US-set series Unbelievable and can’t help be reminded of events back home. I was asked to review Netflix’s new mini-series Unbelievable more than a month ago. After watching the screener over the course of a few nights, it sat on my to-do list for weeks. I would sit down to … Read more
In 2020 the Royal Academy of Arts in London opens the exhibition Rita Angus: New Zealand Modernist. It’s the first-ever show of a New Zealand artist in an institution that dates back to the days of Captain Cook. And it all came about because of a railway shack. I first saw Cass, in the art … Read more
Documents and correspondence dripping out of NZ First paint a picture of a party in turmoil and invite questions about the mysterious foundation which funds it, writes Danyl McLauchlan. The email landed in the very early hours of Thursday morning, sent by an anonymous account, addressed to a handful of senior rightwing politicians and newsrooms … Read more
Is it worth forking out for deluxe snacks for your pooch, or are budget brands the business? Critic reviews eight dog food varieties, rating each on appearance, aroma, mouthfeel, taste and the all-important ‘aura’. This article was first published in the Otago University student magazine Critic Te Arohi. Luxurious images and buzz words like “succulent” and “delicate” … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Local election turnout in focus, NZ First hit with massive data leak, and finance minister unveils whopping surplus. By now it seems apparent that turnout in local body elections is going to be dire. Postal voting effectively finished yesterday, which means anyone who hasn’t yet returned … Read more
If we want to assure our export markets and tourists that we are actually a clean sustainable country, we actually have to prove it, writes freshwater ecologist Russell Death. According to some in the agricultural industry, the sky will fall on New Zealand agriculture if the government’s new freshwater policy becomes law. Consumers will no … Read more
The prime minister conducted most of her Tuesday morning media interviews in-studio today, including her regular chat with ZB titan Mike Hosking. Madeleine Chapman watched then wrote this. Every Tuesday morning Jacinda Ardern has the pleasure of speaking to Mike Hosking. A weekly interview slot on ZB, among others, has long been held by the … Read more
The latest episode of the painfully good Succession pays pointed homage to the appearance of media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son before a British parliamentary inquiry. Contains a shitload of spoilers, obviously. Succession has delighted from the start in refracting the venal and vulgar absurdities of real-life media dynasties. The story of Logan Roy, his … Read more
After rising up the ranks of the UFC, Nigerian-New Zealander Israel Adesanya became the undisputed middleweight champion on Sunday. Rapper and producer Unchained XL explains what Adesanya’s win means for his first generation Afro-Kiwi community. The African community in New Zealand is still fairly small and relatively young. The first few of us trickled in … Read more
In our final local elections race briefing of 2019 (read the rest here), Josie Adams (who is lame) visits Palmerston North (which is cool). The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. Where? First of all, Palmerston … Read more
Two young candidates are trying to bring change to the staunchly conservative Waimakariri and Hurunui Districts in North Canterbury. But are their ideas truly new? Kim Nutbrown and Pattie Pegler report. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism … Read more
Big news for Outlander fans – the trailer for the new season of your favourite sexy time-travelling drama just landed. Outlander recapper Tara Ward tries to decipher what season five may bring. Friends, it’s time to dance around the room like we are Jamie Fraser eating figs at Hogmanay. The first trailer for season five of … Read more
Good: setting up places for people to cast a special vote while they’re waiting for their dumplings. Bad: those places running out of voting papers. Hayden Donnell reports on some trouble with Auckland Council’s one stop shops. Auckland Council’s one stop shops are a great idea. The stations at night markets, universities, and marae allow … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Meth prices drop to record lows, dozens of arrests at Extinction Rebellion protests, and an excellent data dive into land sales to overseas forestry interests. In a worrying sign for wellbeing, the price of meth in many parts of the country has plunged to new … Read more
In the final week of the local election campaign, Porirua mayor Mike Tana has been embroiled in yet another brouhaha around how he has spent public money. What’s the latest, and what will it mean for the race? The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a … Read more
Yesterday’s Extinction Rebellion protests may have caught the media’s attention – including The Spinoff’s – but do such small-scale disruptive events actually do more harm than good? There’s something beautiful in the air. People are striking and protesting in numbers unheard of for a generation or longer. Issues like inequality and climate change have reached … Read more
We asked the two leading Auckland mayoral contenders to write a ‘final pitch’ to voters. This is what John Tamihere wrote. You can read Phil Goff’s pitch here. (Important note: if you’re voting by post, get your papers in the mail today, Tuesday. If you don’t have papers, or can’t get them in the mail … Read more
We asked the two leading Auckland mayoral contenders to write a final pitch to voters. This is what Phil Goff wrote. You can read John Tamihere’s pitch here. (Important note: if you’re voting by post, get your papers in the mail today, Tuesday. If you don’t have papers, or can’t get them in the mail … Read more
For decades, local politics in the Far North has been dominated by conservatives. This election, a gang leader-turned-Man Up organiser, a former Green Party MP, and the lead singer of Opshop are among those trying to take down what they call the ‘old boys club’. Hayden Donnell heads to the winterless north. The Spinoff local … Read more
Steve O’Connor, CEO of Flick Electric Co., is excited about the Electricity Price Review outcomes for Kiwi households – but he wants to see action now. Electricity reforms: they aren’t sexy. But they are important. They are the sensible shoes that will take us into a cool, green, technology-filled future so it’s important to get … Read more
Area man Hayden Donnell joins Toby Manhire for a bonus edition of Gone By Lunchtime, leading a whistlestop tour of the local elections. Fresh from an assignment in the Far North, the mayor of the Spinoff’s local elections pop-up section, Hayden Donnell, takes us on a journey from Kaikohe to Dunedin, stopping along the way … Read more
The seething passions of small-town restaurants explode in TVNZ 2’s new cooking show. Like so many new reality TV formats, My Restaurant Rules sounds like a genre parody, and not even a particularly clever one. Just as Seven Year Switch (couples switch partners to revive their relationships) is a bleak Married at First Sight ripoff, … Read more
Among the hundreds of Extinction Rebellion activists who blockaded a street in Wellington today, there was a teenager who got temporarily kicked out of his school for protesting too much. Alex Braae reports. “My mother, when she first found out, was a little enraged that I was skipping classes to go and hang out with … Read more